It has been that kind of day. Actually, it has been that kind of month. Lots of things going on that affect the blog. As a consequence, I have had to adapt. Those adaptations take time, and there's not much of that.
Amongst those things that I've discussed before, there has always been this desire to turn the blog into more than just a hobby. Ultimately, I want it to be a successful enterprise. The big question is how to do that.
Besides the stuff that I've mentioned already, I've been reading HTML for Dummies, a book I bought almost a decade ago. Something in that book reminds me of something that I haven't given much thought, and that is this: Who the heck reads this blog?
Indeed. I can't answer that even though I've been blogging consistently for over 2 years now. Talking about dummies, I think that qualifies for a special medal for quintessential dumb assery.
I guess I just looked at it from my own point of view thinking that I could get readers who would agree with me and want to read my stuff. Maybe that works, but if it does, it isn't good enough.
How to make money is a good idea that everybody could get interested in. Everybody needs money, unless you already have a lot. I included that in my sidebar, near the top, so there's something for you to consider.
My blog doesn't focus on that enough, though. It is important to know what's going on, but don't get too wrapped up in it. You have to be detached. That's not easy for me. I tend towards getting emotionally involved in what I'm writing about, and that leads me down some paths that aren't relevant towards the goal of making money.
The blog has always been ad hoc, but now requires some thought and organization. That is also a challenge for me because I'm not naturally well-organized. I do like to think, but I wonder about the quality of my thinking. If it isn't good quality, it is just as bad as no thinking at all.
This enterprise is getting more complex all the time. Going forward, I must give more thought to organization and to emotional detachment.
That is all for now.
Al Fin: "Cowboy Commentary", aka "Eat your veggies" The Flag banner is posted in order to defy those who would make patriotic symbols illegal or disreputable.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
CPAC Turns Away Pamela Geller
breitbart
CPAC also turned away New Jersey Gov. Christie. What's CPAC all about anyway? If they are that influential, then maybe they shouldn't be. You look at results. The results are horrendous.
CPAC also turned away New Jersey Gov. Christie. What's CPAC all about anyway? If they are that influential, then maybe they shouldn't be. You look at results. The results are horrendous.
How James K. Polk Created A Continental America
Dick Morris TV: History Video!
Today in 1836, Texas proclaimed its independence from Mexico. The Alamo fell just 4 days later. Still, victory was won and American history was affected in a profound way. If not for Texas' victory, Polk would not have gotten his chance, and America would have followed a much different path.
Today in 1836, Texas proclaimed its independence from Mexico. The Alamo fell just 4 days later. Still, victory was won and American history was affected in a profound way. If not for Texas' victory, Polk would not have gotten his chance, and America would have followed a much different path.
Rotten to the Core, Part III: Lessons from Texas and the Growing Grassroots Revolt
By Michelle Malkin - Friday, March 1, 2013
Let us hope not. The Alamo was a defeat. We should be looking for San Jacinto.
As Texas goes, so goes the nation. The fight against the federalization of academic standards is a national education Alamo.
Let us hope not. The Alamo was a defeat. We should be looking for San Jacinto.
Gullible Nation
Mona Charen via Free Republic
No. Actually, the economy was performing better.
However, blaming the public for being gullible is a mistake. If the Republicans would just oppose Obama, instead of caving in to him, things could be turned around in a hurry. This is how the Republicans will lose the House---they'll keeping blaming Obama while Obama keeps blaming them. You know how that is going to work out. Avoiding responsibility isn't leadership, and that's what we aren't getting from either Obama or the Republicans.
The default will be the status quo.
Obama is using the Republicans as his straw man, and the Republicans are cooperating with useless, self-defeating gestures, such as the Hagel nomination. The sequester fits the pattern just as well. They'll pretend to oppose, but in the end, they'll just cave in as they always do. They need to "man up" and take responsibility and oppose Obama---even if it hurts. That's what a man does, but there aren't any of those in the leadership today.
Another way to think about it is this: In 2007, the government was 40 percent smaller than it is today. Were poor people sleeping under bridges? Were the elderly starving? Were planes grounded? Was food unsafe to eat?
No. Actually, the economy was performing better.
However, blaming the public for being gullible is a mistake. If the Republicans would just oppose Obama, instead of caving in to him, things could be turned around in a hurry. This is how the Republicans will lose the House---they'll keeping blaming Obama while Obama keeps blaming them. You know how that is going to work out. Avoiding responsibility isn't leadership, and that's what we aren't getting from either Obama or the Republicans.
The default will be the status quo.
Obama is using the Republicans as his straw man, and the Republicans are cooperating with useless, self-defeating gestures, such as the Hagel nomination. The sequester fits the pattern just as well. They'll pretend to oppose, but in the end, they'll just cave in as they always do. They need to "man up" and take responsibility and oppose Obama---even if it hurts. That's what a man does, but there aren't any of those in the leadership today.
practice speech to text file
"Hello this is my first a note on this you speak to speech to text The Gadget here app that I got from Google play to see if I can actually use it right to post some online "
Comment:
Not much to look at, but much easier to do this than to type it in on their wretched keyboards.
Comment:
Not much to look at, but much easier to do this than to type it in on their wretched keyboards.
It may not look like it, but I'm busy
Took a break from my projects in connection with the blog to write this post.
Yesterday, I practiced a bit with the smartphone. The editing features still leave something to be desired. It may be possible to post directly from the phone. Haven't decided to do that yet. I may need to buy a better app than what came with the phone so that I can do more real stuff with it.
I made an allusion to another project in connection with this blog, but isn't ready yet. That's what I'm working on this morning. I'll make the announcement now, since I've made enough progress. It still isn't where I'd like it to be, but it is getting there, slowly. It is a new domain for my blog. I purchased it last week and have duplicated this blog on it in Wordpress. It leaves something to be desired, but it is something to look at, at least.
The domain name is bootsandoil.com. If you go there, you will only see some links that don't work. In order to see the blog itself, go here.
Update:
Now the links are working correctly. You can go the boots and oil dot com site and find links to my other blogs, including this one. They should work now.
In the future, I may become more adept at html and be able to create more sophisticated websites. But that will take time as I learn.
Yesterday, I practiced a bit with the smartphone. The editing features still leave something to be desired. It may be possible to post directly from the phone. Haven't decided to do that yet. I may need to buy a better app than what came with the phone so that I can do more real stuff with it.
I made an allusion to another project in connection with this blog, but isn't ready yet. That's what I'm working on this morning. I'll make the announcement now, since I've made enough progress. It still isn't where I'd like it to be, but it is getting there, slowly. It is a new domain for my blog. I purchased it last week and have duplicated this blog on it in Wordpress. It leaves something to be desired, but it is something to look at, at least.
The domain name is bootsandoil.com. If you go there, you will only see some links that don't work. In order to see the blog itself, go here.
Update:
Now the links are working correctly. You can go the boots and oil dot com site and find links to my other blogs, including this one. They should work now.
In the future, I may become more adept at html and be able to create more sophisticated websites. But that will take time as I learn.
Friday, March 1, 2013
Postmodernism means two plus two can equal five
There's an Iranian guy who sometimes works on my vehicle. He once told me a little about his native country that went something like this---the trouble with Iran is that two plus two equals five. Yes, that's the world today. Two plus two equals five, or even five hundred.
Now, recall what postmodernism claims---that there's no truth. Actually, they claim there's no absolute truth. But that's contradiction. Truth is absolute. There's no partly true thing, it's true or it isn't. So, when you say that two plus two equals four, you are telling truth. But not so to a postmodernist. For a postmodernist, this is only a construct, the actual truth could be unknowable.
There are things that are unknowable, I agree with that. For example, you can't know what happens when you die. Does your spirit die with your body, or does it go somewhere? How can you know this until you die? Since nobody who has been dead, really dead, can come back and tell you, you can't know this.
However, this may be disputed by Christianity. Jesus came back from the dead. But how do you know this? You have to take the word of witnesses at the time. It is a matter of choice as to whether you believe that or not. It isn't the quality of the evidence, you know. The OJ Simpson jury had the best quality scientific evidence available that would have convicted Simpson of murder. But they decided to not believe it. Likewise, you can decide to believe what witnesses said about Jesus' death and resurrection. Or decide not to believe it. You can't say truthfully that there is no evidence, as Ayn Rand did.
I have said many times before that the truth is a slippery thing. But that is not the same as saying there's no truth at all. All I'm saying is that truth is hard to find. That is especially true when someone is trying to deceive you. Now, that's a thought. Before someone can deceive you, there has to be truth. To lie implies truth. What do the postmodernists have to say about that? That there is no such thing as a lie?
Postmodernists deny truth. But there can be no denial if there is no truth. There can be no sanity if there is no truth. How do you judge sanity? The ability to perceive reality correctly? That is what I always thought it meant. But if reality doesn't exist, how can there be any sane people?
Two plus two equals five. That's the crazy world we are entering. It's a part of the death cult that denies truth. To the death cult, the truth can be anything you want it to be. Or what a cult of personality--- like Obama aspires to be--- says it is, and you will comply.
Now, recall what postmodernism claims---that there's no truth. Actually, they claim there's no absolute truth. But that's contradiction. Truth is absolute. There's no partly true thing, it's true or it isn't. So, when you say that two plus two equals four, you are telling truth. But not so to a postmodernist. For a postmodernist, this is only a construct, the actual truth could be unknowable.
There are things that are unknowable, I agree with that. For example, you can't know what happens when you die. Does your spirit die with your body, or does it go somewhere? How can you know this until you die? Since nobody who has been dead, really dead, can come back and tell you, you can't know this.
However, this may be disputed by Christianity. Jesus came back from the dead. But how do you know this? You have to take the word of witnesses at the time. It is a matter of choice as to whether you believe that or not. It isn't the quality of the evidence, you know. The OJ Simpson jury had the best quality scientific evidence available that would have convicted Simpson of murder. But they decided to not believe it. Likewise, you can decide to believe what witnesses said about Jesus' death and resurrection. Or decide not to believe it. You can't say truthfully that there is no evidence, as Ayn Rand did.
I have said many times before that the truth is a slippery thing. But that is not the same as saying there's no truth at all. All I'm saying is that truth is hard to find. That is especially true when someone is trying to deceive you. Now, that's a thought. Before someone can deceive you, there has to be truth. To lie implies truth. What do the postmodernists have to say about that? That there is no such thing as a lie?
Postmodernists deny truth. But there can be no denial if there is no truth. There can be no sanity if there is no truth. How do you judge sanity? The ability to perceive reality correctly? That is what I always thought it meant. But if reality doesn't exist, how can there be any sane people?
Two plus two equals five. That's the crazy world we are entering. It's a part of the death cult that denies truth. To the death cult, the truth can be anything you want it to be. Or what a cult of personality--- like Obama aspires to be--- says it is, and you will comply.
Who decides what you read in a newspaper?
Irish Examiner
Freedom of the press is an illusion in the West. Whatever the law may be, if the intent of the law is thwarted by actual practice, the effect of the law is nil. You may well have de jure freedom, but, in fact, you really have de facto censorship. This is what "progressives" are doing to the West. It is part of the death cult.
Where does all this leave freedom of the press? Is the charter a paved avenue towards editorial interference
Freedom of the press is an illusion in the West. Whatever the law may be, if the intent of the law is thwarted by actual practice, the effect of the law is nil. You may well have de jure freedom, but, in fact, you really have de facto censorship. This is what "progressives" are doing to the West. It is part of the death cult.
Employees: Obama donor in process of buying up and ‘destroying’ America’s top pro-gun media outlets
daily caller via Free Republic
Hmm. It also appears that managing perceptions could be a part of a government media strategy. You are being told what to think already, and the government wants to make sure that no other messages reach you. They'll do this by having their allies destroy any media business that broadcasts an unwelcome message.
This is censorship by business plan. What was this Obama said about a free press?
The idea of conservative groups buying media outlets in order to get the message out is being pre-empted. It's a war and the conservatives aren't even putting up a fight.
Employees of Obama donor Leo Hindery Jr.’s media conglomerate Intermedia Partners, which now owns most of the top gun-culture media outlets in the country, believe that Hindery plans to gut and destroy all of them as part of a business plan that has already led to numerous layoffs and the virtual shuttering of prominent television production facilities in Minnesota and Montana.Comment:
Hmm. It also appears that managing perceptions could be a part of a government media strategy. You are being told what to think already, and the government wants to make sure that no other messages reach you. They'll do this by having their allies destroy any media business that broadcasts an unwelcome message.
This is censorship by business plan. What was this Obama said about a free press?
The idea of conservative groups buying media outlets in order to get the message out is being pre-empted. It's a war and the conservatives aren't even putting up a fight.
Why Bob Woodward's Fight With The White House Matters to You
NationalJournal.com
quote:
Over and over again, I am struck at the incongruity between what Obama says and what Obama does. He said the above, and now he has a feud with Woodward. "It does not compute."
quote:
That gets to why this matters beyond the incestuous Washington culture. One of this country’s most important traditions is “a free press that isn’t afraid to ask questions, to examine and to criticize,” Obama said at the 2012 White House Correspondents Association’s annual dinner.[emphasis added]
Over and over again, I am struck at the incongruity between what Obama says and what Obama does. He said the above, and now he has a feud with Woodward. "It does not compute."
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Managing perceptions
The current level of the Dow is just slightly over 14, 000. This compares with what it was in 2007, just prior to the onset of the Great Recession. What was the unemployment rate back then? This from the BLS:
Given the continual economic distress and unemployment (7.8% & particularly, the aforementioned long-term unemployment), how does one regard the Dow Jones industrial average as a source of economic strength? Only if you want it publicized as such and believed. But these facts don't fit with that perception. Hence, the management of perception through the use of highly visible indicators such as the Dow.
To what end? It is a bit of speculation here, but I'd say that policy makers are hoping that the perception will make the reality. That is to say, if the perception is of a robust economy, then a robust economy will follow.
I suppose it takes a bit of credulity to fall for this, but that is what this government is depending upon. I wouldn't be a buyer of stocks, but that's been true for the last 4 years. You learn new things all the time, though. The thing that I think I'm learning here is the length to which some people will go in order to try to fool others. The surprising thing is how little it takes.
One of the most widely recognized indicators of a recession is higher unemployment rates. In December 2007, the national unemployment rate was 5.0 percent, and it had been at or below that rate for the previous 30 months. At the end of the recession, in June 2009, it was 9.5 percent. In the months after the recession, the unemployment rate peaked at 10.0 percent (in October 2009). Before this, the most recent months with unemployment rates over 10.0 percent were September 1982 through June 1983, during which time the unemployment rate peaked at 10.8 percent.
Compared with previous recessions, the higher proportion of long-term unemployed (those unemployed for 27 weeks or longer) in the recent recession and its post-recession period is notable.
Given the continual economic distress and unemployment (7.8% & particularly, the aforementioned long-term unemployment), how does one regard the Dow Jones industrial average as a source of economic strength? Only if you want it publicized as such and believed. But these facts don't fit with that perception. Hence, the management of perception through the use of highly visible indicators such as the Dow.
To what end? It is a bit of speculation here, but I'd say that policy makers are hoping that the perception will make the reality. That is to say, if the perception is of a robust economy, then a robust economy will follow.
I suppose it takes a bit of credulity to fall for this, but that is what this government is depending upon. I wouldn't be a buyer of stocks, but that's been true for the last 4 years. You learn new things all the time, though. The thing that I think I'm learning here is the length to which some people will go in order to try to fool others. The surprising thing is how little it takes.
Cantor threatens “civil war” on conservatives; demands (and “wins”) passage of Democrat Senate bill
protein wisdom
Comment:
There's only one remedy for this---leave the party. If that means the Democrats win, so be it. It means little to have a majority only to have the significance of such to be pissed away by minority of the party that doesn't want to be an opposition party.
Hot Air runs with the headline “Hastert Rule, strike three: House passes Senate’s Violence Against Women Act bill with majority of Republicans opposed,” which points out that Boehner’s house has now passed legislation on three separate occasion where the leadership caucused with the Democrats to defeat its own Party.
Comment:
There's only one remedy for this---leave the party. If that means the Democrats win, so be it. It means little to have a majority only to have the significance of such to be pissed away by minority of the party that doesn't want to be an opposition party.
Tough month
Don't want to seem too whiny or such. But I lost internet service twice in the last month. As a consequence, I purchased a smartphone for the first time. I'm still learning how to use it. It may not seem like much of an improvement, though, in terms of content. A perusal of the post count doesn't show any big drop off in terms of posts, but pageviews dropped like a rock. Overall, not a good month.
Getting sick didn't help.
In the long run, I expect this smartphone to improve my productivity in terms of content for the blog. Maybe the pageviews will improve too. I hope so. It is still a mystery to me why some posts are popular and others aren't. If there was a rhyme or reason to it, it should be possible to figure it out.
I've been busy too, working on another project. It is related to the blog, but it isn't ready to announce yet.
On the whole, I'm working hard to make this blog as successful as it can be made. I appreciate your patience.
Getting sick didn't help.
In the long run, I expect this smartphone to improve my productivity in terms of content for the blog. Maybe the pageviews will improve too. I hope so. It is still a mystery to me why some posts are popular and others aren't. If there was a rhyme or reason to it, it should be possible to figure it out.
I've been busy too, working on another project. It is related to the blog, but it isn't ready to announce yet.
On the whole, I'm working hard to make this blog as successful as it can be made. I appreciate your patience.
att down
my internet service is out again. trying to do posts with this smart phone is tough
update:
It may go a little better if I use the smartphones email software to send posts to this blog. I used it to send the following text as a test.
Sent from my Virgin Mobile Android-Powered white
Sent from my Virgin Mobile Android-Powered white
It goes a bit better, but that's not saying much.
Update:
This is a video I made in an attempt to do some kind of post this morning. However, my lack of smartphone skills prevented me from putting it up.
update:
It may go a little better if I use the smartphones email software to send posts to this blog. I used it to send the following text as a test.
Sent from my Virgin Mobile Android-Powered white
Sent from my Virgin Mobile Android-Powered white
It goes a bit better, but that's not saying much.
Update:
This is a video I made in an attempt to do some kind of post this morning. However, my lack of smartphone skills prevented me from putting it up.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Plasma Fusion -- hoax or breakthrough reality?
Question: Why isn't that question asked about wind and solar? Even if those can be made to be as cheap as coal or oil, their lack of availability due to the wind not blowing all the time, or the sun shining, means that they actually have to be several times cheaper. Why then, aren't these considered hoaxes?
It's the death cult, I tell you. The death cult will fund anything that won't work and refuse to fund anything that will work because they intend to fail. They intend to fail because they intend death and destruction.
Over the top? It's no different from what the death cult itself says. They will claim that everyone is against them because of hatred and such. Why isn't that question aimed at them, instead? Why isn't the real problem the death cult's own hatred that they project upon others?
NASA has built a prototype mining robot designed to find ice on the Moon
news.com.au
Looks like it could dig trenches too. That would be useful for installing a habitat, and then taking the regolith and placing it on top for radiation shielding.
Looks like it could dig trenches too. That would be useful for installing a habitat, and then taking the regolith and placing it on top for radiation shielding.
Space: The Ultimate in Escapism
When I write about space, I get the feeling that it is escapist. Our political situation is so bad, and it's getting worse all the time. Writing about space cheers me up a bit. Unfortunately, it is probably escapist, in the psychological sense, to write about space when things here on the ground are so bad.
In the end, the government won't do anything constructive in space. With the government as it is, it can't do anything constructive at all. It has become a destructive force. Before long, we will see the terrible consequences of the failure to reign in such a destructive force.
Since space is escapist psychologically, might it also be a way to literally escape this crazy world? To answer that affirmatively must require a concerted effort by those who are disaffected to really want to leave- in the physical sense- leave this country.
But, to go where? Maybe other parts of the world are freer that we are at present. But the greatest freedom of all is to be able to get away from it all in every sense of the word. If those in power are going to try to put chains on us all, it would be harder to do that if everyone could leave on their own whim. That's what space could offer. A limitless frontier. Instead of "go West, young man", you could say, "go up, young man". Up to the ultimate in freedom, consistent with law and order in a civilized society, as Ronald Reagan once said.
It would require a large effort. But with a large number of people, it would become possible. Not for everybody, but for enough to make a new start in a new country or world out there.
This old world is wrapped up in a twisted mess of insanity and may not be salvageable. Plans could be made for an alternative. An alternative based upon the principles that once guided this nation and made it great.
So, it is all just an escapist dream, or is there anybody out there who would like to make this happen?
In the end, the government won't do anything constructive in space. With the government as it is, it can't do anything constructive at all. It has become a destructive force. Before long, we will see the terrible consequences of the failure to reign in such a destructive force.
Since space is escapist psychologically, might it also be a way to literally escape this crazy world? To answer that affirmatively must require a concerted effort by those who are disaffected to really want to leave- in the physical sense- leave this country.
But, to go where? Maybe other parts of the world are freer that we are at present. But the greatest freedom of all is to be able to get away from it all in every sense of the word. If those in power are going to try to put chains on us all, it would be harder to do that if everyone could leave on their own whim. That's what space could offer. A limitless frontier. Instead of "go West, young man", you could say, "go up, young man". Up to the ultimate in freedom, consistent with law and order in a civilized society, as Ronald Reagan once said.
It would require a large effort. But with a large number of people, it would become possible. Not for everybody, but for enough to make a new start in a new country or world out there.
This old world is wrapped up in a twisted mess of insanity and may not be salvageable. Plans could be made for an alternative. An alternative based upon the principles that once guided this nation and made it great.
So, it is all just an escapist dream, or is there anybody out there who would like to make this happen?
Can Rednecks Save America?
By Robert Ringer - Monday, February 25, 2013
The so-called sequester is yet another dose of the never-ending political theater that perpetually diverts the attention of iPod and sports addicts from such mundane matters as liberty and tyranny. By now, of course, all but the walking dead realize that if the sequester actually happens, it will amount to nothing more than a slight — make that very slight — decrease in the growth of spending.
Yet, every media outlet — including Fox News —continues to play along with the “let’s all wring our hands in unison and try not to panic” game orchestrated by the statists in our nation’s capital. I trust you’ll excuse me if I ignore the Chicken Little game and address a subject that is a bit more important — our accelerating pace down the road to serfdom. You need not worry about my startling the walking dead, because I have it on good authority that they don’t read my stuff anyway.
As bored as I may be writing about him, I have no choice but to once again allude to the Duplicitous Despot. Throughout his life, Obama has been an angry kid on a mission: the complete destruction of Western civilization. For crying out loud, it’s not like his past is not well documented for anyone who can read at a sixth-grade level.
The fake smile is cute and all that, but Obama’s bitterness is clearly visible in his actions. And, in all fairness, it’s understandable. His father, who left him shortly after he was born, was an alcoholic, philandering failure with delusions of grandeur. Not a situation anyone would wish on any child.
But such was Obama’s life, and, unfortunately, his unhappiness drove him to seek out other angry people — from Frank Marshall Davis to Jeremiah Wright, from Bernadine Dohrn to Michelle Robinson (whom he married). Today, of course, he is surrounded by an army of like-minded Marxists of his choosing.
These are radical leftists who hate America, hate Western values, hate all that’s pure and wholesome about life. Thus, there is no mystery as to why the fascist left so despises truth. After all, truth is the purest and most wholesome thing in the universe. Truth is the enemy of the Marxist crowd because, left to play itself out with no outside interference, it will never fail to expose the most carefully crafted lie.
But the left, at least since Lenin, has developed the art of doublespeak to the point where it is capable of transforming the most heinous lie into an apparent truth (i.e., what the walking dead — or just the average uninformed individual — perceives as truth). And once people abandon unprocessed truth and embrace hydrogenated truth, which is much more palatable, the left is able to impose its will on the populace without serious resistance.
Also, an important aspect of the left’s ability to transform lies into truth is that they are masters of indignation. Well-schooled leftists religiously follow the Alinsky tactic of shaming people who dare to speak the truth.
If you speak the truth about Obamacare, you want to see millions of poor people suffer.
If you speak the truth about unemployment benefits, you want to see millions of poor people suffer.
If you speak the truth about minimum-wage laws, you want to see millions of poor people suffer.
If you speak the truth about redistribution of wealth, you want to see millions of poor people suffer.
The script never changes. It’s boring; it’s childish; it’s insulting to a thinking person’s intelligence. But it works! The left doesn’t try to intellectualize things. It keeps its message simple.
Marxists Democrats know full well that Boehner brains are incapable of processing intellectual thoughts … or facts … or moral issues. Boehner brains are wired to simply give knee-jerk responses — the kind of responses that aid the Dirty Dems in moving evermore rapidly down the road to serfdom. Above all, Boehner brains are predictable.
There is only one way to combat the emotional sewage of the left: Confront it — head-on — loud, clear, and unequivocally. Timidity does not work. The left thrives on the timidity, cowardice, and lack of principle of statist conservatives — including supposedly conservative TV commentators who provide its members with a daily platform to spread their lies.
What is annoying about all this is that millions of us knew the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about Obama before he ever took office. We knew he would never make the original of his birth certificate available to any independent authority. We knew he would use the Cloward-Piven strategy to collapse the economy and make virtually everyone dependent on the state. And we knew he would try to ban all guns in order to make citizens defenseless.
At the risk of drying out Chris Matthews’ pee-soaked trousers, I am compelled to speak the unspeakable: Barack Obama is not “the smartest guy in the room.” In fact, as those who knew him at the University of Chicago have made clear, he is not a particularly intelligent individual. He is, however, exceedingly clever and cunning.
Which is why guns are now at the top of his agenda. He senses that the Tea Party — which folded up shop after its 2010 victories — is coming back, this time with many more rednecks in the mix. Rednecks are a government’s worst nightmare because they (1) own lots of guns and (2) often live in hard to reach places — mountain ranges like the Ozarks, the Appalachians, and the Smokys. And they don’t much care for people who wear government badges.
Whenever government criminals try to exert absolute control over people, the use of force is a must. You cannot stop people from doing things they want to do, or make them do things they don’t want to do, without applying brute force. And that’s a dangerous tactic when there are several hundred million guns stashed away in private hands.
It would take an inestimable number of Waco-style attacks to root out every redneck in the U.S. That’s why Hitler, Stalin, and every other brutal dictator was smart enough to grab people’s guns early on. After that, gulags, gas chambers, and firing squads were easily put into place.
Do I seriously believe that gulag prison camps are possible in the U.S.? Yes. Do I seriously believe gas chambers and mass executions are possible in the U.S.? Yes.
In fact, any kind of atrocities are possible, but only if government first accomplishes its number-one objective: taking away your guns. Remember, when people fear the government, they get tyranny, but when the government fears the people, they get freedom. And government will continue to fear the people so long as the people have guns.
You have permission to reprint this article so long as you place the following wording at the end of the article:
Copyright © 2013 Robert Ringer
ROBERT RINGER is a New York Times #1 bestselling author and host of the highly acclaimed Liberty Education Interview Series, which features interviews with top political, economic, and social leaders. He has appeared on Fox News, Fox Business, The Tonight Show, Today, The Dennis Miller Show, Good Morning America, The Lars Larson Show, ABC Nightline, and The Charlie Rose Show, and has been the subject of feature articles in such major publications as Time, People, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Barron's, and The New York Times.
To sign up for his one-of-a-kind, pro-liberty e-letter, A Voice of Sanity, Click Here.
Comment:
Good stuff, but needs to hit harder.
The so-called sequester is yet another dose of the never-ending political theater that perpetually diverts the attention of iPod and sports addicts from such mundane matters as liberty and tyranny. By now, of course, all but the walking dead realize that if the sequester actually happens, it will amount to nothing more than a slight — make that very slight — decrease in the growth of spending.
Yet, every media outlet — including Fox News —continues to play along with the “let’s all wring our hands in unison and try not to panic” game orchestrated by the statists in our nation’s capital. I trust you’ll excuse me if I ignore the Chicken Little game and address a subject that is a bit more important — our accelerating pace down the road to serfdom. You need not worry about my startling the walking dead, because I have it on good authority that they don’t read my stuff anyway.
As bored as I may be writing about him, I have no choice but to once again allude to the Duplicitous Despot. Throughout his life, Obama has been an angry kid on a mission: the complete destruction of Western civilization. For crying out loud, it’s not like his past is not well documented for anyone who can read at a sixth-grade level.
The fake smile is cute and all that, but Obama’s bitterness is clearly visible in his actions. And, in all fairness, it’s understandable. His father, who left him shortly after he was born, was an alcoholic, philandering failure with delusions of grandeur. Not a situation anyone would wish on any child.
But such was Obama’s life, and, unfortunately, his unhappiness drove him to seek out other angry people — from Frank Marshall Davis to Jeremiah Wright, from Bernadine Dohrn to Michelle Robinson (whom he married). Today, of course, he is surrounded by an army of like-minded Marxists of his choosing.
These are radical leftists who hate America, hate Western values, hate all that’s pure and wholesome about life. Thus, there is no mystery as to why the fascist left so despises truth. After all, truth is the purest and most wholesome thing in the universe. Truth is the enemy of the Marxist crowd because, left to play itself out with no outside interference, it will never fail to expose the most carefully crafted lie.
But the left, at least since Lenin, has developed the art of doublespeak to the point where it is capable of transforming the most heinous lie into an apparent truth (i.e., what the walking dead — or just the average uninformed individual — perceives as truth). And once people abandon unprocessed truth and embrace hydrogenated truth, which is much more palatable, the left is able to impose its will on the populace without serious resistance.
Also, an important aspect of the left’s ability to transform lies into truth is that they are masters of indignation. Well-schooled leftists religiously follow the Alinsky tactic of shaming people who dare to speak the truth.
If you speak the truth about Obamacare, you want to see millions of poor people suffer.
If you speak the truth about unemployment benefits, you want to see millions of poor people suffer.
If you speak the truth about minimum-wage laws, you want to see millions of poor people suffer.
If you speak the truth about redistribution of wealth, you want to see millions of poor people suffer.
The script never changes. It’s boring; it’s childish; it’s insulting to a thinking person’s intelligence. But it works! The left doesn’t try to intellectualize things. It keeps its message simple.
Marxists Democrats know full well that Boehner brains are incapable of processing intellectual thoughts … or facts … or moral issues. Boehner brains are wired to simply give knee-jerk responses — the kind of responses that aid the Dirty Dems in moving evermore rapidly down the road to serfdom. Above all, Boehner brains are predictable.
There is only one way to combat the emotional sewage of the left: Confront it — head-on — loud, clear, and unequivocally. Timidity does not work. The left thrives on the timidity, cowardice, and lack of principle of statist conservatives — including supposedly conservative TV commentators who provide its members with a daily platform to spread their lies.
What is annoying about all this is that millions of us knew the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about Obama before he ever took office. We knew he would never make the original of his birth certificate available to any independent authority. We knew he would use the Cloward-Piven strategy to collapse the economy and make virtually everyone dependent on the state. And we knew he would try to ban all guns in order to make citizens defenseless.
At the risk of drying out Chris Matthews’ pee-soaked trousers, I am compelled to speak the unspeakable: Barack Obama is not “the smartest guy in the room.” In fact, as those who knew him at the University of Chicago have made clear, he is not a particularly intelligent individual. He is, however, exceedingly clever and cunning.
Which is why guns are now at the top of his agenda. He senses that the Tea Party — which folded up shop after its 2010 victories — is coming back, this time with many more rednecks in the mix. Rednecks are a government’s worst nightmare because they (1) own lots of guns and (2) often live in hard to reach places — mountain ranges like the Ozarks, the Appalachians, and the Smokys. And they don’t much care for people who wear government badges.
Whenever government criminals try to exert absolute control over people, the use of force is a must. You cannot stop people from doing things they want to do, or make them do things they don’t want to do, without applying brute force. And that’s a dangerous tactic when there are several hundred million guns stashed away in private hands.
It would take an inestimable number of Waco-style attacks to root out every redneck in the U.S. That’s why Hitler, Stalin, and every other brutal dictator was smart enough to grab people’s guns early on. After that, gulags, gas chambers, and firing squads were easily put into place.
Do I seriously believe that gulag prison camps are possible in the U.S.? Yes. Do I seriously believe gas chambers and mass executions are possible in the U.S.? Yes.
In fact, any kind of atrocities are possible, but only if government first accomplishes its number-one objective: taking away your guns. Remember, when people fear the government, they get tyranny, but when the government fears the people, they get freedom. And government will continue to fear the people so long as the people have guns.
You have permission to reprint this article so long as you place the following wording at the end of the article:
Copyright © 2013 Robert Ringer
ROBERT RINGER is a New York Times #1 bestselling author and host of the highly acclaimed Liberty Education Interview Series, which features interviews with top political, economic, and social leaders. He has appeared on Fox News, Fox Business, The Tonight Show, Today, The Dennis Miller Show, Good Morning America, The Lars Larson Show, ABC Nightline, and The Charlie Rose Show, and has been the subject of feature articles in such major publications as Time, People, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Barron's, and The New York Times.
To sign up for his one-of-a-kind, pro-liberty e-letter, A Voice of Sanity, Click Here.
Comment:
Good stuff, but needs to hit harder.
Want your Constitution back? Start here.
American Thinker
The left-wing is a death cult. It works because it pretends to be the opposite. You have to look at the results, not the intention and the claim. They are for gun-control and against capital punishment? That looks like compassion, but it is the opposite. By taking away the God given right of self-defense and by allowing criminals to get off scot-free, the left-wing is encouraging death and destruction. Therefore, gun-control is but one of a many examples of their death-cult in action. To stop leftism is to promote life. To reward leftism is to promote death. It is as simple as that.
The ratification of that amendment would free the deep-red states to ramp up enforcement of the death penalty until they achieved results even more dramatic and unmistakable than those seen in Texas, where executions increased from zero in 1980 to a record 40 in 2000 -- and the murder rate plunged by almost two-thirds, while murder in non-death-penalty states fell only 21 percent [1].
The left-wing is a death cult. It works because it pretends to be the opposite. You have to look at the results, not the intention and the claim. They are for gun-control and against capital punishment? That looks like compassion, but it is the opposite. By taking away the God given right of self-defense and by allowing criminals to get off scot-free, the left-wing is encouraging death and destruction. Therefore, gun-control is but one of a many examples of their death-cult in action. To stop leftism is to promote life. To reward leftism is to promote death. It is as simple as that.
Space Life Weakens Immune Systems, Shows Study
webpronews
Comment:
Yesterday, I saw on Quora that the human immune system doesn't work properly in weightlessness of space. That seemed like terrible news. But the above quote shows that artificial gravity may lessen or even reverse that outcome, which is quite reassuring. For if the immune system is irreversibly compromised, human space travel becomes problematic. Let's hope that this is not the conclusion and that artificial gravity will enable people to live in space indefinitely.
European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Reiter performed the experiments while on the ISS, as seen in the video below. Human immune cells were allowed to float freely in microgravity while others were placed in a centrifuge that simulated gravity. The cells in the centrifuge were found to be more healthy than those left to float.[ emphasis added]
Comment:
Yesterday, I saw on Quora that the human immune system doesn't work properly in weightlessness of space. That seemed like terrible news. But the above quote shows that artificial gravity may lessen or even reverse that outcome, which is quite reassuring. For if the immune system is irreversibly compromised, human space travel becomes problematic. Let's hope that this is not the conclusion and that artificial gravity will enable people to live in space indefinitely.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Kardashevian Aspirations: Space Station idea discussed
Kardashevian Aspirations: Space Station idea discussed: Using a Hunter Gas gun to deploy a space station from the moon.
Sustainability
That's the big word these days. When it is used, it is usually about the natural environment. But what about the political environment? Shouldn't there be a sustainability movement in politics?
If our politics aren't sustainable, it means instability and collapse some time down the road. Wouldn't it be a good idea to find a way to make politics sustainable so as to avoid such a pitfall? What could be a modus vivendi between the opposing factions?
Naturally, that means compromise. But how to compromise when those who could compromise won't?
You could ask two simple questions:
The Republicans want limits on entitlements. The Democrats want higher taxes on the rich. Neither seems to want to give up anything for these goals.
Everybody has a price, it has been said. What is your price? That question must be answered or else no movement will be possible.
I know why the Democrats won't move. The reason they won't move is that in order to get what they want, they would have to give up a lot more in spending than what they are demanding in taxes. If you raise taxes by a half trillion per year, this won't move the spending side all that much. The spending side will have to move twice as much as the tax side in order to balance the budget and the Democrats will never agree to that.
For better or worse, the country has to make a choice. One party will have to dominate in order to get movement because compromise isn't possible. The gap is too wide. Because of that, the status quo isn't sustainable. Something has to give. Divided government isn't sustainable.
If our politics aren't sustainable, it means instability and collapse some time down the road. Wouldn't it be a good idea to find a way to make politics sustainable so as to avoid such a pitfall? What could be a modus vivendi between the opposing factions?
Naturally, that means compromise. But how to compromise when those who could compromise won't?
You could ask two simple questions:
- What are you willing to give up?
- What are you aiming to get?
The Republicans want limits on entitlements. The Democrats want higher taxes on the rich. Neither seems to want to give up anything for these goals.
Everybody has a price, it has been said. What is your price? That question must be answered or else no movement will be possible.
I know why the Democrats won't move. The reason they won't move is that in order to get what they want, they would have to give up a lot more in spending than what they are demanding in taxes. If you raise taxes by a half trillion per year, this won't move the spending side all that much. The spending side will have to move twice as much as the tax side in order to balance the budget and the Democrats will never agree to that.
For better or worse, the country has to make a choice. One party will have to dominate in order to get movement because compromise isn't possible. The gap is too wide. Because of that, the status quo isn't sustainable. Something has to give. Divided government isn't sustainable.
Late start for a dreary morning
Sorry, I worked a bit late last night, and I'm tired.
A quick scan of the news reveals more of the same kind of stuff that may wear you down. Nothing here to inspire.
What's the trouble? Let's look at the big picture.
Really, the whole problem is in the leadership. How many times does it have to be said? The public doesn't get it, but that's because the information they are getting is bad. This is not easily corrected. But there's no will amongst the GOP to do even that much. So, what do you do? Crawl into a hole and suck your thumb?
Or analyze it for the upteenth time. Okay, what the heck.
It may well be the case that all of this is unavoidable. Civilizations get old just like people do. The weaken and may even die out. Although China's been around nearly the whole time. The trouble with Western Civilization is that it really goes bad when it goes bad. When the Roman Empire fell in the West, it was followed by the Dark Ages. During that time, it was nearly overwhelmed by the Islamic invasion. The West nearly went out for good at that time.
The thing that is happening today is reminiscent of the latter stages of the Roman Empire. It let in barbarians and failed to adequately protect its culture. The result was eventual collapse. Same thing is happening today with all the immigration and multiculturalism. The West is losing its sense of self just as the Romans did.
Is there anything that can be done in order to assure its long term survival, or is it hopeless?
The frustrating thing is that there are things that can be done, but aren't being done. There is no will. Or if there is, it is the wrong kind.
So, we are march on to the drum beat of a death cult which has overtaken the West. A dreary thought to start the day, but what can you do?
A quick scan of the news reveals more of the same kind of stuff that may wear you down. Nothing here to inspire.
What's the trouble? Let's look at the big picture.
Really, the whole problem is in the leadership. How many times does it have to be said? The public doesn't get it, but that's because the information they are getting is bad. This is not easily corrected. But there's no will amongst the GOP to do even that much. So, what do you do? Crawl into a hole and suck your thumb?
Or analyze it for the upteenth time. Okay, what the heck.
It may well be the case that all of this is unavoidable. Civilizations get old just like people do. The weaken and may even die out. Although China's been around nearly the whole time. The trouble with Western Civilization is that it really goes bad when it goes bad. When the Roman Empire fell in the West, it was followed by the Dark Ages. During that time, it was nearly overwhelmed by the Islamic invasion. The West nearly went out for good at that time.
The thing that is happening today is reminiscent of the latter stages of the Roman Empire. It let in barbarians and failed to adequately protect its culture. The result was eventual collapse. Same thing is happening today with all the immigration and multiculturalism. The West is losing its sense of self just as the Romans did.
Is there anything that can be done in order to assure its long term survival, or is it hopeless?
The frustrating thing is that there are things that can be done, but aren't being done. There is no will. Or if there is, it is the wrong kind.
So, we are march on to the drum beat of a death cult which has overtaken the West. A dreary thought to start the day, but what can you do?
Monday, February 25, 2013
Defend the Second Amendment by Restoring the Eighth
american thinker
Anything that works for the good is opposed, anything that harms the good is promoted. That's what you get with liberalism.
another assault is under way on another part of the Constitution -- an assault that has claimed far more innocent lives over the years than did the massacres that spurred current gun-control agitation...which abolished the death penalty in 2012; ditto Illinois in 2011, New Mexico in 2009, New Jersey in 2007, and New York, whose legislature acquiesced in its abolition by state judiciary and executive actions from 2004 to 2008. All led by Democrats
Anything that works for the good is opposed, anything that harms the good is promoted. That's what you get with liberalism.
Smarter people have the right to rule over you
According to this book.
The devil made her do it, since nobody has a free will. I guess only smart people have that. /snark
By the way, this reminds me of a book review I did.
h/t Samizdata
We now have lots of evidence from psychology and behavioral economics that we are often very bad at choosing effective means to our ends. In such cases, we need the help of others—and in particular, of government regulation—to keep us from going wrong.According to Obama, she really didn't write that. lol
The devil made her do it, since nobody has a free will. I guess only smart people have that. /snark
By the way, this reminds me of a book review I did.
h/t Samizdata
There's no room for cuts in the budget? Balderdash!
free republic
After bankrupting Hostess, Unions rake in dough from Uncle Sam, who supposedly can't spare a dime from the sequester. The "sequester" as such, doesn't even slow down spending, only the rate of growth in spending.
People voted for this crap. Do they actually know that they are voting for this crap?
After bankrupting Hostess, Unions rake in dough from Uncle Sam, who supposedly can't spare a dime from the sequester. The "sequester" as such, doesn't even slow down spending, only the rate of growth in spending.
People voted for this crap. Do they actually know that they are voting for this crap?
Sunday, February 24, 2013
We are in a world of excrement
If these expensive planes aren't even usable according to this story, we don't have an adequate national defense.
Think about that. Trillions of dollars have been spent and the weapons don't work.
This is what comes from people thinking that spending money alone will solve problems. People solve problems---throwing money at problems just costs a lot of money and no problem gets solved. I fear that this is a typical story when it comes to our government. It can't do much of anything right anymore.
Update:
There's been a correction that denies these problems with the F22. Perhaps there's a lesson here, don't believe everything you read or hear. One thing though: I've not heard any combat history of this plane. Does it or does it not work as advertised?
Think about that. Trillions of dollars have been spent and the weapons don't work.
This is what comes from people thinking that spending money alone will solve problems. People solve problems---throwing money at problems just costs a lot of money and no problem gets solved. I fear that this is a typical story when it comes to our government. It can't do much of anything right anymore.
Update:
There's been a correction that denies these problems with the F22. Perhaps there's a lesson here, don't believe everything you read or hear. One thing though: I've not heard any combat history of this plane. Does it or does it not work as advertised?
Did you know...
...that geothermal energy actually comes from radioactive decay? Did you know that? Did you also know that if it weren't for this, that there would be no atmosphere, and therefore no life as we know it on Earth? Just look at Mars, which had an atmosphere and water, as does Earth. It lost that because it has no magnetic field, as Earth does. The reason Earth has a magnetic field is because of its liquid core. Its liquid core is possible because of radioactive decay. Did you know that?
Well, the reason for this discussion is because of all the admiration going to Iceland, which depends upon "renewable" geothermal energy. The same "renewable, green" energy discussed just above.
Okay, can we just drop all the bullshit about nuclear power? If we had molten salt reactors we could power our own civilization at a higher level and it would be just as "green" as Iceland's economy.
Isn't the real opposition to nuclear power the fact that it comes from the ingenuity of man's mind, which runs counter to the philosophy that there's no truth? Otherwise known as postmodernism philosophy?
There's no difference between naturally occurring radioactivity and man-made radioactivity. They are one and the same.
Well, the reason for this discussion is because of all the admiration going to Iceland, which depends upon "renewable" geothermal energy. The same "renewable, green" energy discussed just above.
Okay, can we just drop all the bullshit about nuclear power? If we had molten salt reactors we could power our own civilization at a higher level and it would be just as "green" as Iceland's economy.
Isn't the real opposition to nuclear power the fact that it comes from the ingenuity of man's mind, which runs counter to the philosophy that there's no truth? Otherwise known as postmodernism philosophy?
There's no difference between naturally occurring radioactivity and man-made radioactivity. They are one and the same.
Calorie ( nutritional ) conversion to kilowatt-hours
Given that I have a Bachelor of Science degree, I should be able to verify if this is accurate. But I can't do that, so my degree is worth what, exactly? Anyway, here's the conversion, at least according to the website cited below:
Don't know about you, but that surprises me that the average number of calories used per day is equal to that much power. A kilowatt-hour of power is plenty. Let's see how we can compare this to something that may make a bit more sense.
A one hundred watt light bulb shining continuously for 24 hours will use 24 * .1 kw equals 2.4 kilowatt hours of electricity. About the same number cited above for 2000 calories.
Do you believe that? Your energy level is about the same as a 100 watt light bulb.
 |
| http://www.asknumbers.com/EnergyWorkConversion.aspx |
Don't know about you, but that surprises me that the average number of calories used per day is equal to that much power. A kilowatt-hour of power is plenty. Let's see how we can compare this to something that may make a bit more sense.
A one hundred watt light bulb shining continuously for 24 hours will use 24 * .1 kw equals 2.4 kilowatt hours of electricity. About the same number cited above for 2000 calories.
Do you believe that? Your energy level is about the same as a 100 watt light bulb.
Ace: UK's Credit Rating Downgraded
Ace of Spades Blog
That's right. They've gotten the public to drink the poisonous Kool-Aid of postmodernism. To summarize once again--- postmodernism holds that there are no truths. But, how can this be true? How can a truth be a non-truth at the same time? It can't. Therefore, it is a false philosophy, or to put it more accurately, an anti-philosophy. It must go before it destroys us all.
These are shamanistic times. Everything is magic, isn't it? The reasoning man tells the public the obvious truth and the charlatan tells the public an obvious lie, but a pleasing one; of course the public prefers to believe in Magical Lies.
That's right. They've gotten the public to drink the poisonous Kool-Aid of postmodernism. To summarize once again--- postmodernism holds that there are no truths. But, how can this be true? How can a truth be a non-truth at the same time? It can't. Therefore, it is a false philosophy, or to put it more accurately, an anti-philosophy. It must go before it destroys us all.
Liberalism delenda est
A couple of ideas--- one was to adapt the phrase "Carthago delenda est" to liberalism. The other was to adapt the scene from the Wizard of Oz, where Dorothy threw water on the Wicked Witch and caused the bad old broad to melt. That gave me the idea of the way to destroy liberalism---with the purity of truth, which is denied through the philosophy of postmodernism. Destroy postmodernism as a valid philosophy, and you destroy liberalism. Without the philosophy that is a non-philosophy or anti-philosophy, liberalism cannot be sustained.
Travis' 'Victory or Death' letter returns to the Alamo
Local News | News from Fort Worth
The contents of the letter is as follows:
I have given it serious thought to make the trip to San Antonio and see this letter on display at the Alamo.
The contents of the letter is as follows:
To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World
Fellow citizens & compatriots
I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna I have sustained a continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the walls I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country Victory or Death.
William Barrett Travis.
Lt. Col. comdt.
P. S. The Lord is on our side. When the enemy appeared in sight we had not three bushels of corn. We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels and got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves.
Travis ++++++++
R.
I have given it serious thought to make the trip to San Antonio and see this letter on display at the Alamo.
Senator Bernardi: "The Greens party has repainted old-fashioned Marxism with a pale-green brush"
If Romney had said half of these things, he'd be president right now. Great speech.
It’s time for a real policy on asteroids
February 24, 2013 by Peter A. Garretson, Kurzweil blog
Excerpts:
Indeed. Why must asteroids be a hazard? Why can't they be a resource? A national policy of planetary defense combined with an eye toward exploiting the resources of asteroids seems like a win-win proposition to me. One additional proposition could be added: the resources of asteroids could be employed to colonize space for the betterment of mankind.
Update:
Via Instapundit, a video of the meteor strike in Russia, plus a discussion of a mission to an asteroid:
Excerpts:
- If you think the events of the post-Valentine’s day surprise of the Russian Meteor and 2012 DA14 near miss are one of a kind, think again.
- Potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs) are the subset of NEAs with the closest orbits to Earth’s orbit...The latest results provide the best count yet of the total PHA population, finding about 4,700 plus or minus 1,500 with diameters larger than 330 feet (about 100 meters)
- A federal asteroid policy...In August 2009, in an article for The Space Review, I advised that the forthcoming national space policy should establish a lead agency and supported/supporting relationships for the now fully established asteroid/comet hazard....Later in 2010 I spoke to NASA on planetary defense considerations for a human mission to an asteroid, suggesting that this be a primary and not secondary objective for such a mission.I argued in ASPJ that space strategists and policymakers needed to be thinking actively about a future space environment where commercial space industries might have capabilities to mine and exploit asteroids.[ emphasis added]
- Without a lead agency that perceives itself to have a mandate, and clear policy stating where we desire to go, we leave both our government officials and our private industry disempowered to deal with the dangers and advance the opportunities that near-Earth asteroids present.
Indeed. Why must asteroids be a hazard? Why can't they be a resource? A national policy of planetary defense combined with an eye toward exploiting the resources of asteroids seems like a win-win proposition to me. One additional proposition could be added: the resources of asteroids could be employed to colonize space for the betterment of mankind.
Update:
Via Instapundit, a video of the meteor strike in Russia, plus a discussion of a mission to an asteroid:
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